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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will make his long-awaited return to the football field Thursday night in an AFC North game against the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving Day.
The Bengals sit at the bottom of the division along with the 3-8 Cleveland Browns, but the team’s current standing was never a factor in Burrows’ decision to return, which came nearly a month earlier than expected.
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“I’m a football player. I get paid a lot of money to go and play a game with my friends and we work really hard,” Burrow told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s intense and there’s jobs on the line, but at the end of the day it’s a game and I’ve worked hard to put myself in this position and get as healthy as I can be to go out and play with these guys and that’s something I wanted to do.”
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Pressed further on the decision to return to the game, Burrow asked if his status as the team’s “franchise” player meant he should be more cautious about his return with next season in mind.
But for Burrow, his injury and rehab is just the nature of the sport.
“I’m a football player, and if I get hurt, I’ll go through the rehab process and then I’ll let everyone know when I feel like I can go out there and play. I don’t really know what else to say about it. I’m never going to go to somebody and say, ‘Yeah, I’m healthy, but I don’t think I should go out there and play. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was unable to put weight on his ankle after being injured against the Jaguars. (IMAGIN)
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“I’m not going to live my life and play this game afraid of something going to happen. Like, yeah, something’s going to happen – it’s football. Guys are going to get hurt, guys are going to get concussions, you’re going to break bones, tear ligaments – it’s a physical, intense game that’s part of this. And yeah, I can’t have had much to do with that, I can’t.”
Burrow suffered a turf toe injury during the Bengals’ Week 2 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jake Browning took over as the starter, but after three straight losses, the Bengals traded for veteran Joe Flacco.
With him under center, Cincinnati has gone 1-5, including four straight losses.
Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals looks to pass during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Paycor Stadium on September 14, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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Burrow will try to prove himself on Thanksgiving night against the Ravens, who have won five straight despite a rough start to the season.
“It’s a divisional rivalry. You got respect for them. It’s intense out there. I wanted to be out there playing on Thanksgiving. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do that I pushed for in the past and the NFL gave it to us. Then, you know, the injury happened and thought I wasn’t going to be able to play on. And then I felt like it was a really exciting opportunity. me It’s a national stage to go out and prove myself again after not playing for several weeks,” Burrow added.
The Ravens host the Bengals at 20.20 ET.
